One Thousand Souls
by Shadow Oblivion
Summary: After Alan has difficulty on an assignment due to his illness, Eric tries to help keep his spirits up, while contemplating what he was doing for Alan, and what would happen if Alan or the other shinigami ever found out. Pre-musical 2. -one-shot-


I noticed that ffn added Eric and Alan from the 2nd musical, so I decided to write about them, since there aren't any stories yet that just focus on them. It gets a bit fluffy toward the end though. This can be interpreted however you like, since I haven't waited to see what they actually say to each other in the musical (apart from the translations of the songs and what little Japanese I can understand). And the random guy Alan chases after (i. e. going to reap) in the beginning was a name I picked at random. Yeah, unoriginal title, but I couldn't think of anything else. Long one-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kuroshitsuji.

-x-

From his position on the roof of a building, Alan Humphries watched a lone man hurry along a darkened street of London. Keeping track of the man's progress, Alan opened his book that held the list of the dead, and looked up the man's information. His name was Clyde, and he was a minor smuggler with a low success rate. The book indicated that Clyde was scheduled to die in ten minutes time from blood loss, as he had received two gunshot wounds minutes earlier. Alan shut the book and sent it away, grasping his deathscythe as he jumped through the air over to the next building's roof.

Alan kept pace with Clyde as the man ran, turning down alleyways and corners at random, as if Clyde could sense that he was being pursued by someone other than Alan. It seemed as though Clyde was smuggling money, no doubt stolen, and Alan wondered vaguely what would happen to the money once Clyde was dead. Perhaps a random prostitute or pedestrian would come across the suitcase, see what was inside it, and make a run for it with the money in tow. Alan checked to see where the man had gotten to, and continued to shadow him. It really wasn't Alan's concern with what happened to the money. His only responsibility at the moment was to collect the man's soul. Nothing more. So focused on his job, Alan failed to realize that he was being followed as well.

-x

Someone was after him, Clyde could feel it. He just couldn't see anyone following him when he risked a glance over his shoulder. Clyde dashed down the street with his suitcase full of stolen money, cursing his boss for the umpteenth time that day for this horrible job. It was supposed to have been easy, no trouble at all. That's what he had been told and Clyde had held that view as he left to go get the money. Clyde hadn't been prepared for the money he was to steal to be guarded by so many armed gunmen. Since when did such a rundown place have so many guards anyway?

Clyde paused in his run to catch his breath, free hand going up to where he had been shot in the chest, in a poor attempt to staunch the blood. The other wound was in his right side, but it wasn't nearly as painful. Clyde had been shot as he ran away with the money by some remarkably skilled gunman. He was lucky to have gotten away. Clyde felt like utter shit, but knew he was still some distance away from his home. He wouldn't be safe until he got there. When he did, Clyde could lie low for awhile, get his injuries treated, and hope that what he had done that night would be forgotten about. Clyde stumbled along, growing weary as paranoia started to eat away at him. It felt more and more like he was being followed, though he still couldn't see anyone. Panting harshly, Clyde turned down into another alleyway. Passing by a familiar shop, he felt a wave of relief. He was almost there, nearly safe…home was only a few minutes away. He could make it.

While he was distracted, Clyde didn't realize that he was being watched by two pairs of eyes, one of them Alan. The other was keeping to the shadows as to avoid Alan's detection.

Crouching on the roof of a building across from Alan, Eric Slingby watched his friend go after the running man. Straightening up, Eric followed after Alan, masking his presence from the other man as he did so. Eric didn't want Alan to know that he was there, as Alan was likely to get upset. Eric knew that the man Alan was chasing was going to die soon. Eric moved ahead and landed on the ground, leaning up against a wall near where the man was headed, and waited, knowing that the man and Alan would be there soon. After waiting for a little while, Eric heard them coming.

With a pained grimace, Clyde rounded one more corner and spotted his home up ahead. He came to a stop in front of the door and fumbled for his keys, forced to set the suitcase down, as he had started to shake. The adrenaline rush Clyde had had escaping the gunmen was starting to wear off, and the pain from his gunshot wounds were staring to set in, causing him to start to panic. He dropped the keys in his rush to get inside, and cursed aloud furiously, not noticing that Alan landed on the ground a few paces behind him. Clyde did, however, hear the shinigami take a few steps toward him. Clyde turned around, and spotting Alan, drew his gun, pointing it shakily at the reaper, "Who the hell are you?" Why did someone have to turn up now? When there was no response, and pain flared up throughout Clyde's body, he shot the gun off several times with a snarl of fury.

Alan gracefully dodged the bullets, deflecting one with his deathscyhthe, as Clyde ran away. Alan gave chase, thinking to end this now, and caught up with Clyde seconds later. The man managed to fire off several more bullets, one grazing Alan's left arm and another brushing by his right side. Alan, unaffected by the bullets almost hitting him directly, swung his deathscythe sideways, catching Clyde across the back. The man fell to the ground with a strangled cry, cinematic record springing forth from the new wound. Alan brought out his book again, opening it to the man's page, and looked up to view the record. Everything was going smoothly, until it happened again.

Alan suddenly dropped his book halfway through viewing the record, clutching his chest as he sank down to his knees, coughing. Alan let go of his deathscythe soon after, as he half curled up on the ground, gasping. Worn out from a night full of reaping souls, the sudden attack from his illness had caught him off guard. Alan started to fade in and out of consciousness, Clyde's cinematic record continuing to play in the background.

"Alan!" Eric emerged from where he had been lurking, and hurried toward his friend.

Funny…that had almost sounded like Eric…but hadn't he been out reaping souls as well, in a different section of London? Alan was unsure whether or not he wanted Eric to find him like this. Alan heard footsteps quickly approaching him, and felt the sensation of being held up. Alan thought he saw Eric, but passed out before he had the chance to look more closely.

-x

Alan woke abruptly, lying still in bed, a little disoriented and confused as to how he had gotten into said bed. Movement to his left caused Alan to look in that direction, and he found Eric sitting in a chair, reading. It was an all too familiar sight, and Alan was getting rather tired of it. He couldn't stand collapsing at such bad times. Alan sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair and sighing. There wasn't much he could do about it other than to try and deal with it.

"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Eric questioned, looking up from his book when he noticed Alan sit up in bed.

"Fine…" Alan lied, glancing over at Eric, "How long was I out this time?" Then, remembering that he had been out on assignment, added, "I…I had just reaped the last soul for the day…when I…" Alan broke off, staring down at the sheets, clenching them in silent frustration.

Eric set his book aside and stood up, walking over to stand next to the bed. Leaning over, he clapped Alan on the shoulder gently, "Don't worry about it. I finished judging the last one for you, and turned in the paperwork after I brought you here." Seeing that Alan still looked unhappy, Eric attempted to cheer him up, "You'll be fine. We'll find a cure for your illness."

Alan shook his head, staring off to the side with a melancholy look on his face, "There isn't one Eric. You know that as well as I do."

Eric looked away, unable to refute the statement. "…" He did know of one possible cure, or rather, a legend of one, but couldn't be sure if it would work until he tried it. Eric knew that Alan would disapprove of the method, so he needed to make sure to keep it a secret. Alan wouldn't think that so many souls should be sacrificed for a chance to cure him of the thorns of death. Alan would likely try and stop him if he learned of what Eric was doing, saying that it wasn't worth it. Eric withheld a sigh. The two of them had tried every possible cure, until they had been told there was nothing that could be done. It had become a waiting game, and Eric couldn't stand it any longer-he had decided that he needed to do something, anything.

Eric glanced up in time to see Alan struggle out of bed, and his jaw set. Eric was willing to do anything to save his friend, even if that meant he was breaking the rules and killing massive amounts of people not on the list of the dead. At the moment, Eric was trying to figure out how to find more of those pure souls in larger quantities. If he couldn't find them more quickly, Alan might not be around by the time he finished. All Eric had done and sacrificed would have been for nothing if Alan wasn't around any longer.

"Eric?" Alan questioned, out of bed and eying Eric curiously. He had just said something to the other reaper, but he hadn't gotten any reply from his friend. Alan then noticed the faraway look in his eyes.

Eric brushed the thought away for the moment, seeing that Alan was now standing next to the bed in front of him, staring at him with what might have been concern mixed with a little annoyance. Uh oh, had Alan said something and he didn't hear it?

"Were you listening to me?" Alan asked, wondering what Eric was thinking about so hard that he wasn't paying attention. Perhaps he'd ask later, if the opportunity arose.

"No, I wasn't, I…I was...thinking about...something." Eric replied, hoping that his poor excuse didn't cause Alan to ask what he had been thinking about. There was really no good way to explain what he had in mind.

Alan, however, just shook his head. If Eric didn't want to talk about whatever was on his mind, that was fine with him, "I was saying thank you, for finishing the collection…and turning in the papers…though I think I would have been able to take care of it myself, after the attack had passed." Alan avoided eye contact as he said the last part in a soft tone.

Eric merely nodded, knowing that Alan hated admitting that he might need back-up for simple tasks such as soul collections. Eric had made it a habit to go along with Alan when he went to reap souls, despite the other man not wanting him to. That he was able to do it himself. Eric, however, wanted to be around, just in case there was ever a time that Alan actually needed his help. Like right now, when Eric had found Alan two hours earlier.

Alan could guess what Eric was thinking about at the moment, without him saying anything. With a sigh, Alan went over to where his deathscythe was propped up against the wall, "Are there any other soul collections left for the day, or are we supposed to be catching up on our paperwork?"

Eric hadn't yet moved to pick up his saw deathscythe. He was instead looking at Alan, a hint of worry evident in his voice as he spoke, "Are you sure you want to go so soon? Shouldn't you rest for awhile longer?" It needed to be asked, even if Eric knew what the response would be.

Alan whirled around immediately, seething, "No! I said I was fine! I don't need any more rest! Now, are there or aren't there more collections tonight?" Alan glared at Eric indignantly, as though daring him to suggest rest again.

Eric brushed off the sudden flare of anger from Alan, not at all surprised with the reaction. He was used to it by now. Eric knew that it was a touchy subject with Alan, and expected the sudden change in him. Eric knew that it was mostly due to the frustration Alan felt with his illness. Eric answered Alan's question as if he hadn't just asked Alan about resting some more, "I have two souls to take care of before I'm done for the day. Then there's always paperwork to do. May as well get a start on that before William blows a gasket. He was already scolding Grell the other day for skipping work, and letting his paperwork pile up."

Alan's expression was resolute, "I'll go with you. We can go and do the paperwork afterward."

Eric nodded again, knowing that it would be useless to try and argue with Alan, "Let's get going then. I don't think you feel like working overtime today."

Alan smiled lightly as he adjusted his grip on his deathscythe and walked past Eric, "Neither do you, right? After all, I saw you sleeping the other night in your office, drooling all over the paperwork. I wonder what Mr. Spears thought of that when he saw it the next day."

Eric did not dignify that with a response as he retrieved his own deathscythe, creating a path to London, "Come on, the two collections are a fair distance away from one another. We'll go to the closest one first..."

Alan interrupted him, "Why don't we split up and take one each? We can finish more quickly that way," Seeing Eric's concerned look, Alan scowled a bit, "I'll be fine. I won't overexert myself. You really shouldn't worry so much, Eric."

Still doubtful, and thinking there was reason to worry, Eric sighed at Alan's determined look, "All right, all right. Here." Eric brought forth his book, and showed Alan a name, saying, "He's due to die in a few minutes time, of a heart attack. No one lives with him." Eric didn't add that it wouldn't cause a lot of stress to reap that kind of soul. This way, Alan wouldn't have to worry about the chance of having another attack from his illness, as long as he took it easy.

Alan seemed to have sensed the unsaid words, because he turned without saying a word and headed off in the direction of the appointed place. He would reap the soul and prove to Eric that he would be quite all right on his own.

Eric went in the opposite direction, wanting to finish as quickly as possible so that he could catch up with Alan. Even though Alan insisted that he was fine, Eric was worried that since Alan had just recovered from the last attack, that he might suffer from another one for moving so soon after resting for only a short time. Eric had told Alan that there was no one living with the man he was going to reap, so as long as Alan didn't get another attack...Eric gripped his deathscythe tightly. No, he'd hurry with his soul collection, just in case Alan did need his help. No point in being too careful. He'd let Alan scold him if it turned out that he was worrying a bit too much.

-x

Alan reached a building, and spotted the man in question already in the throes of a heart attack. It was a simple task and it would prove no trouble for him. Alan went inside the room through the open window, raising his deathscythe to bring forth the man's cinematic record. It was then that he sensed something was wrong. Twisting, Alan barely managed to bring his deathscythe up in time to deflect a demon's claws, and the demon leapt back, hissing. Alan held up his scythe defensively, eying the demon. It didn't appear to be a very high ranking one. The demon growled unintelligibly as it headed for Alan again and Alan decided that he should be able to finish the demon off without tiring himself out too much, as long as he ended it quickly.

Alan rushed forward to meet the demon in the center of the room, and started to exchange blows with its claws. Alan had forgotten all about telling Eric that he would take it easy. After a few moments, the demon backtracked, preparing to spring again. Alan dashed forward, scythe held aloft, and as he started to swing it down, an attack from his illness struck him. _ 'No!' _Alan nearly dropped his deathscythe as he collapsed to the ground, free hand going to clutch his chest, coughing and panting harshly. Not good, not good. Not with a demon so close by. Alan attempted to push himself back up, but couldn't, clutching his chest more tightly as he sunk back down to the ground.

The demon, sensing weakness, dove at the incapacitated Alan, claws outstretched, snarling in savage pleasure. Its moment of triumph was cut short, however, as the demon suddenly found itself thrown sideways and its chest cut deeply by Eric, who pursued it around the room and destroyed it with a few more swings of his deathscythe. Eric relaxed his stance once he didn't sense any other demons in the area, and sent his deathscythe away as he hurried over to Alan's side, dropping to the ground next to him, "Alan!" Eric had had a bad feeling, and had done his soul collection a little sloppily. Eric found that he didn't care, as he had been able to get to Alan in time. Eric hadn't expected to see a demon. Everything had become a blur when Eric had seen the demon diving for Alan, who was on the ground, unable to defend himself.

Alan had let go of his deathscythe by now, and clutched one of Eric's arms with the hand not grasping his chest, gasping out, "I'm fine, I'm fine." He could tell by the look on Eric's face that he didn't believe him, and Alan could only keep muttering that he was all right. He didn't want Eric to keep looking at him with such a pitying look, even if he hadn't been meant to see it.

Eric knew that Alan really wasn't fine, but didn't pursue the subject. He held still, allowing Alan to cling to one of his arms as he alternately coughed and gasped in breaths of air. Eric waited patiently, quiet, as he was unable to think of anything to say. Eric held still and silent, merely offering his presence as the other man attempted to collect himself.

It took a few minutes for Alan to recover, and even then he was spent. Alan sat on a chair that Eric steered him to, compliant, and watched as Eric went over and reaped the man's soul. The soul was still collectible, meaning that the demon hadn't had the chance to steal it. Once Eric was finished with judging the man's soul, he turned his attention to Alan, "I'm done. Are you all right to go?" He didn't have to ask Alan if he needed to rest more. It was an unasked question.

"…Yes, let's go." Alan responded faintly, standing up shakily from the chair. He didn't protest when Eric came over and slung one of his arms over his shoulder to help him remain standing. Alan allowed Eric to lead him away from the room, and out the window to the roof, where they returned to the shinigami realm. "Headquarters…not home…" Alan said softly, though he couldn't do anything if Eric decided to take him home instead. Alan didn't have the energy to protest.

"I know. We'll go there, so that William won't get on our cases about that paperwork," Eric responded, again inwardly thinking that he should get things moving along with collecting the pure souls. William and the others wouldn't start to notice the missing souls for a little while. It meant that he would need to find a way to collect a lot more souls at a time, and soon. He wasn't sure how much longer Alan had...

"Eric?" Alan questioned quietly, when Eric had been silent for several minutes.

"Yeah?" Eric replied, shifting his hold on Alan. Eric wanted to get to the offices, so that Alan could sit down and rest, before doing any paperwork.

"…" Alan sighed, and not knowing how to put into words what he really wanted to say, said, "I'm sorry…I…"

Eric cut him off, "Don't apologize. It's fine. The work's done for the day." Eric didn't want Alan apologizing for something he had no control over.

To avoid talking about his illness, Alan looked up and spotted headquarters in the distance, "Don't tell William that it's happening more often. He'll probably make me do all paperwork and no field work." _'Or make me retire.' _Was the unspoken worry._  
_

Eric wanted to tell Alan that paperwork would be a smarter idea, but knew better than to voice it. Eric knew Alan's pride was already hurting from allowing him to help him. Eric also knew that Alan wanted to feel like he didn't need to rely on others assistance, even if it was under the guise of back-up. It seemed to mean the same thing to Alan, who wanted to prove that he could get things done on his own. Eric smirked a little,"I won't say anything to William, but I will still help you out, with or without your permission."

Alan smiled at the flippant, offhand way Eric had said that, too weary at the moment to argue with him. Instead, Alan wondered whether or not William already knew about his illness, the thorns of death. More likely than not, by the looks of the easy soul collections he had been doing, William either knew or had an inkling about it.

Once they arrived at headquarters, Eric brought Alan to his office, and left him there to work on paperwork. Closing the door, Eric made as if to go to his own office next door. He stopped outside the door and glanced around to see if anyone was looking. Seeing no one, Eric left headquarters and the shinigami realm again, going back to the human world. No one would miss him for an hour or so.

Eric meandered aimlessly about the dark streets of London, though he was consciously keeping an eye out any for pure souls he might come across. If he could, he would reap a few before Alan realized he was gone. Eric's attention was caught a half hour later by a rather fancy party going on in a mansion he had started to walk by. Eric came closer, and peered inside. He was rather surprised at the amount of women that were gathered there, and spotted a platinum-blond man chatting with the closest group of women, all of whom were chattering excitedly. From bits of conversation that he could hear, Eric surmised that the platinum-blond man was the Viscount of Druitt. Eric turned away, deciding not to linger. There was nothing he could do with a large amount of people around. It would draw too much attention to himself, and not just from the party goers, but from reapers as well. It would be fairly obvious what he was doing if he suddenly started attacking people out of the blue in the middle of a party. No, he would be patient...for now.

An hour later, Eric came across three women walking down the street, dressed up fancily. Eric presumed they were leaving the party he had seen earlier. Eric sized them up. They appeared to have pure souls. Mind made up, Eric started to approach them, calling out, "Good evening." He had his deathscythe held loosely in one hand by his side. He would make this as quick and clean as was possible, and get out of the area.

The women stopped upon hearing Eric, and started to whisper amongst themselves, wondering where he had come from. The three women didn't recall seeing him at the party. They didn't know what was happening to them until Eric bared down on them all of a sudden with his deathscythe. After finishing the unpleasant task, Eric rested his deathscythe over one shoulder and turned to leave, but was stopped by a voice calling out to him, "Oh! You killed them so beautifully~! I've never seen anything like that before!" Eric turned and saw the same platinum-blond man from the party approaching him with a smile. Viscount Druitt, Eric recalled. He considered leaving before he let the viscount get a good look at him, but an idea suddenly came to mind. This man seemed to have the ability to draw large groups of women to him…Eric waited patiently until the man came within hearing distance. A plan had formed in Eric's mind, one that he would be sure to keep quiet from the other shinigami...especially Alan. Eric believed he had just found a way to collect more souls at a time.

-x

Eric returned to headquarters twenty minutes later, and was confronted by an irate William. Before the dark-haired man could begin to scold him, Eric held up his hands, placating, "Sorry, sorry. I had an errand to run. I was just going back to finish up for the night. It is pretty late after all..." Resisting the urge to ask William if he slept in his office, Eric quickly moved past the scowling man, and went to Alan's office. Eric entered without knocking, to see how Alan was doing. Most of the paperwork was finished anyway, as Eric had done a little of it earlier, when he had turned in paperwork on Clyde's soul collection. Eric wondered if Alan had noticed the diminished pile of paperwork.

Inside the office, Eric found Alan fast asleep at his desk. Sighing lightly, Eric closed the door and approached the desk, gazing down at the fitfully sleeping Alan. Eric knew that he really should have just brought the other man home, despite the protests. After a long night of reaping souls, Eric wouldn't have thought that Alan was up to working on paperwork so late, as he was likely exhausted. Alan just hadn't wanted to admit it, Eric supposed, and tried to put up a strong front. A knock sounded on the door, and Eric crossed the room again to answer it.

"Mr. Slingby, what are you doing in here?" William questioned smoothly, looking around Eric to observe the slumbering Alan, "I thought you said you were going to finish up your work for the night." William turned his eyes back to Eric, seeking an answer.

Seeing William's disproving frown start to form, Eric quickly spoke up on Alan's behalf, "I was about to take Alan home. He's exhausted himself from work today. He needs to rest." The tone in Eric's voice made it clear that he wasn't going to be swayed in his decision, even if it was William he was talking to.

William, however, appeared to understand, "I see…Take him home then, Mr. Slingby. I expect to see you and Mr. Humphries back in the morning." William took one last look at Alan, before departing.

Eric silently watched William leave, before deciding that William must know about Alan's illness. Perhaps William wasn't going to do anything about it for now, as long as Alan finished his soul collections on time and did his paperwork. Eric wondered if, when the illness interfered too much with Alan's job, he would be forced to retire.

Shaking the troubling thought away, Eric turned his attention to Alan once more. Stepping forward, Eric carefully pulled the chair away from the desk, so that he could pick Alan up without waking him. Alan remained asleep as was carried out of the office and along the halls. Eric left headquarters without running into anyone, as it was late at night, and most of the employees had already gone home for the night.

Eric brought Alan to the sleeping shinigami's home. The door was locked, so Eric searched Alan's pockets for a key. Eric held still when Alan shifted in his sleep, and once he had settled down again, Eric withdrew a small key from a pocket and unlocked the door. Inside, Eric carried Alan down a short hall to the bedroom. Throwing back the sheets of the bed and rearranging the pillows, Eric settled Alan into bed, propping Alan up against the pillows in an attempt to make the other as comfortable as possible. Satisfied, Eric pulled the sheets up to Alan's chest, and removed Alan's glasses and set them on a nearby nightstand.

Turning, Eric dragged a chair from across the room, and brought it over next to the bed. Eric sat down and started to read, though after an hour, Alan was still asleep. Eric decided he was unable to concentrate any longer, and put the book away. Eric leaned over so that his arms were on the bed, and rested his head on top of them. Eric had considered going home and letting Alan sleep, but decided that he wanted to be there when Alan woke up. Eric wanted to explain why he had taken him away from headquarters, as well as to make sure that Alan was all right. Eric tried in vain to stay awake, but he was tired and drifted off, still half resting on the bed.

-x

Alan woke up an hour later and realized that he wasn't in his office anymore, but in bed. By the look of the room, he was back home again. Alan knew of only one person that would have brought him here without asking first. Alan turned his head, expecting to see Eric in a chair reading again, and was prepared to scold him. Any ire that Alan might have been feeling vanished in an instant as soon as he saw Eric half-laying on the bed, asleep on the chair. Eric's right arm had moved out from beneath his head, so that it was angled a little in Alan's direction, while Eric's left hand was curled up beneath his chin. Alan couldn't help but smile at the sight. Eric must have really been worried about him if he hadn't left. Glancing about, Alan picked up a nearby blanket. Leaning over, Alan tossed it around Eric, so that it rested over the other man's shoulders. Eric shifted in his sleep and muttered something as Alan resettled against the pile of pillows. There was a short silence, in which Alan gazed silently down at Eric, before he spoke softly, "You're always watching out for me…" Alan murmured, reaching out his left hand to rest it lightly on top of Eric's right hand, "Thank you…" Alan closed his eyes wearily, deciding that he should get some more rest, while he was able to.

Eric woke a few minutes later, looking around groggily as he tried to figure out why he had woken up so suddenly. Eric quickly checked on Alan to see if he were still there, and he was, still asleep in bed. Eric was about to allow himself to drift back off, when he realized that Alan had rested his hand on top of his at some point while he had been sleeping. Eric's eyes softened as he gazed at the slumbering Alan. Eric would gather those 1,000 pure souls, for a chance to cure Alan's illness. Eric wasn't going to let Alan die if he could save him, regardless of any complications that arose from what he was doing. Eric turned his right hand over beneath Alan's hand, so that he could hold onto it. Eric squeezed Alan's hand lightly, as to not wake him, and rested his head back on the bed.

Eric slept without waking until morning, when he was woken with a light shake to one of his shoulders. Blinking sleep out of his eyes, Eric saw Alan leaning against the pillows, looking back at him with a slightly bashful expression. Wondering what was wrong, Eric threw him a questioning look.

Smiling faintly, Alan spoke, "Good morning, Eric." Alan couldn't exactly move his left hand, as Eric currently had a vice-like grip on it.

"Morning…" Eric responded automatically, before realizing that he was still holding onto Alan's hand, and rather tightly at that. Well, that explained why Alan had been looking at him that way. Eric let go of Alan's hand abruptly and coughed, sitting up straight in the chair, while looking off to the side and saying the first thing that came to mind, "How are you feeling?" What did Alan think of him holding his hand? Well...Eric supposed Alan had started it the night before by resting his hand on top of his in the first place...

Alan smiled briefly at Eric's reaction and ensuing inner battle, if the flustered look on his face was anything to go by. Instead of teasing Eric, Alan answered his question, "I'm all right. What about you? Did you sleep well?"

Eric glanced up briefly at Alan, before looking away once more, still a little distracted with the waking arrangement, "I'm fine. Will you be able to go to headquarters soon?"

Alan nodded, "Yes, I'm feeling much better." He was still wondering why Eric had been holding onto his hand so tightly, but was starting to wonder if he knew already why. Alan guessed he just couldn't find the right words to voice it.

Eric looked back at the man resting on the bed, who was in turn looking back at him calmly. Eric felt a wave of sadness pass over him and again reminded himself once more to start getting more pure souls whenever he had free time. The Viscount of Druitt had invited him to a party the next day. Eric wasn't about to pass up any chance to collect pure souls when the opportunity presented itself.

Alan caught the look on Eric's face. It was one of sadness. Alan remembered seeing it the previous day, as well as other times, and realized that Eric was truly concerned for him. It was as if Eric were worried that Alan wouldn't be around the next day, and was making sure that he was. Alan remembered seeing the look of relief on Eric's face whenever days had gone by without any attacks. Alan, without a second thought, reached out and gripped one of Eric's hands, and held on, "I'm not going to go anywhere, Eric." Alan tried to put unsaid words in with the gesture, wanting Eric to understand that he didn't want him to stress himself out over his illness. What happened, would happen, and Alan was grateful that Eric always stuck around with him, no matter what.

Eric was deeply affected by Alan's simple words and gesture, more so than the other reaper could have imagined. Eric turned his face away from Alan's, to hide the look of torture that had worked its way onto his face, fighting back tears that were threatening to form. With a deep, shuddering breath, Eric looked directly at Alan, holding onto his hand in quiet desperation, "I know that, Alan." And Eric would keep it that way. No matter what rules he broke, no matter what consequences awaited him, Eric was going to save Alan. Seeing the trusting look in Alan's eyes, Eric knew that he would destroy anyone and anything that got in his way of accomplishing that.

-x-

So...what did you think of it?

Since I only understood a minimal amount of what was being said in the musical (plus from what I read from a summary that had been written, as well as lyrics translations) I based the interaction between those and what I could see in the musical. So I attempted to make them IC, which was kind of a hard thing to do. I like Eric and Alan. It's too bad they weren't around for long.


End file.
